Blackmoor Gate, the western gateway to

Exmoor National Park Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...

, sits on the watershed between tributaries of the rivers

Yeo Yeo is a Chinese, English, and Korean surname. Origins As an English surname, Yeo is a toponymic surname meaning "river", either for people who lived near one of the Rivers Yeo, or any river in general. The word comes from Old English , via sou ...

and Heddon nearly 305 m (1000 ft) above sea level. It has long been a crossing of tracks — an ancient ridgeway following the former moorland ridge from the heights of

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. ...

down to the sea at Mortehoe. The road from Lynton to Barnstaple crosses here at a low point of the ridge, as did the former

Lynton & Barnstaple Railway The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, narrow gauge railway and was slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, ...

. The former station is now 'The Old Station Inn' — a licensed restaurant. Until the middle of the 19th century, open moorland ran to the east of the road between here and

Parracombe Parracombe is a rural settlement south-west of Lynton, in Devon, England. It is situated in the Heddon Valley, on Exmoor. The population at the 2011 census was 293. A number Bronze Age barrows exist nearby, along with several other small ear ...

with a gate onto the moor at this point. The name does not come from that of the

Blackmore Blackmore is a village in Essex, England. It is located approximately 3 miles (5 km) east of Chipping Ongar and 4 miles (7 km) north of Brentwood. The village is in the parish of Blackmore, Hook End and Wyatts Green in the Brentwood ...

family - who owned the Manor of Court, Parracombe Churchtown. The land at Blackmoor Gate was owned by the Nott Pyke-Nott family and was part of the Manor of Rowley.

References

External links

Exmoor National Park Authority

Exmoor Tourist Association
Villages in Devon Exmoor {{Devon-geo-stub